Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I'm still learning!!

I went out to check horn buds on all the ram lambs when I brought them in for their evening feeding.

Boy was I surprised!

If what I'm feeling/seeing is true I have some exciting news for you pollie nuts!

WhitePine Parker, the musket smirslet out of Forrest and Peep is a smooth poll. At three weeks old he has ZERO horn bud and only hair where the bud should be!!!

Dito for Barish x Gracie's boy Grover.

And Rahu's boy, he's appearing to have just tiny button scurs. Time will tell

The rest of the boys are going to have fairly large horns, which is fine by me!

Where is Juliann when I need her....I wish we all lived much closer....learning would be much faster!

Micron Reports

I got my ram micron reports back from Yocom-McColl and was pleasantly surprised. I sent all of my ewes to Texas A & M because it was less than $40 to do all of my 30 ewes!

While its not the end-all be-all of Shetland Sheep breeding, its a great and cheap tool to help decide breedings besides the conformation, color, fleece type/consistency, and temperament that also play roles in my decisions.

I'd say most of the boys are looking good, just have to keep that CV down. Has anyone else done micron testings this spring? Their lamb micron reports are going to be listed as well to show how they stayed somewhat similiar.

In order the numbers are AFD, SD, CV and %>30

Jazz lamb fleece: 19.8 4.4 22.2 0.9
Jazz yrlg fleece: 20.6, 4.6, 22.3, 2.2

He barely budged!

Barish lamb fleece: 24.5 6.4 26.1 15.6
Barish yrlg fleece: 20.6 5.6 27.2 5.3

Also another nice test!

PayDay lamb fleece: 23.3 8.8 37.8 17.5
PayDay yrlg fleece: 20.4 7.3 35.8 8.5

lookin good!

Rolo lamb fleece: 21.9 6.7 30.6 12.1
Rolo yrlg fleece: 20.0 7.1 35.5 10.5

Not too shabby!

Heath lamb fleece: 22.4 5.9 26.3 8.5
Heath yrlg fleece: 18.9 6.3 33.3 6.2

some good, some could be better

All in all a great learning experience for me. I was able to see them from conception to birth (well I planned it for them), birth to weaning, weaning to breeding, breeding to overwintering and now up to shearing. I can say that I'm quite pleased! I can't wait to see the results of the girls and see how much they 'stuck' to their last year fleece tests. What's also going to be interesting is that the ewes that I first got....this will be their 3rd fleece test, so I'm waiting to see if they 'hold' or not or if they change, why and learn more. When you stop learning, you stop living right? :)

Ram Lambs For Sale

I had read on several blogs that people wanted to know what lambs were available. Its really sad for me to say this but I was really hoping for all girls! I am keeping both Jazz and Barish (for now) and realize that I'd be doubling up too much if I kept their sons. If they were ewes they would never be going anywhere. Some, I'd like to 'grow on' but in the end I realize they will more than likely become available. Others are Ag and I personally don't want a ram that will spread that Ag like wildfire in my flock. Just a personal preference. Had either been a girl, i would have kept them too :) And since I have a plethora of black ewes and grey katmoget ewes, I really want to hold out for a moorit or moorit gulmoget ram from someone for the fall groundbreedings of the ewe lambs (its crazy i'm not even done with lambing and already thinking of this fall!)

Below is a bit of description of each boy with mostly current photos. For inquiries please email me privately at gramsay@arvig.net

We'll go in order of age:
WhitePine Arvada grey katmoget smirslet
(Wintertime Jazz x FirthofFifth Assam Meleng)
56% UK, F2 Jericho, F3 Drum Ram, F4 Drum Jings, F5 Jamie, F5 Holly, F5 Timothy, F5 Timothy, F5 Gordon.
His mother is Shaela and carries spotting and moonspotting. Father is grey katmoget. Arvada could be homozygous black, but could also carry moorit. Super crimpy fleece, consistent from front to rear, nice square build. Currently a big momma's boy. I have fleece samples and micron reports on both parents for the past three tests for Meleng and past two tests for Jazz. I haven't seen a softer ram than Jazz. Period.

WhitePine Lyons (black smirlset, could be modified)
(Wintertime Jazz x Bono Creek Lavender Brown)
62% Uk, F2 Jericho, F3 Drum Ram, F4 Drum Jings, F4 Jamie, F5 Gordon
This guy may be modified as he is not 'jet black' but more of a steeley dark grey. His mother is a dark fawn color. He is also quite consistent from front to back, and according to this photo, will be quite the ladies man. He will have nice big horns. I again have fleece samples and micron reports for the past three tests on both parents. He is also carrying moorit and is BBBb AaAa.


WhitePine Rico (bersugget)
(FirthofFifth Aman x RYL Rachildas)
37.5% UK, F2 Orion, F4 Lightning, F5 Jamie, F5 Holly
His dad is an Orion son who is modified. Both parents have a gorgeous crimpy fleece (he is shown above with his mom and sister). He has a gorgeous bersugget pattern and is AgAa and BBBb. If only he was a girl! (for me) I have both fleece samples and micron reports for both parents.


WhitePine Parker (musket smirslet, POLLED) and WhitePine Peyton (black gulmoget smirslet)
Wintertime Black Forrest x Underhill Peep
50% UK, F3 Dillon, F3 Greyling, F3 Jamie, F4 Greyling
Sons of the super soft, super crimpy, solid sided gulmoget of Meghan Namaste's I was truly hoping for girls from this breeding...dang it! However both these boys have a lot to offer someone else. Parker, the musket has very dense, very crimpy fleece and both are built like brick houses and very squar. Peyton the Gulmoget will be a lot like his dad....dog hair at birth but then shed it out and have a gorgeous crimpy fleece. Both carry spotting and possibly modifieds (from their dad). I have fleece samples and reports for both parents again.

WhitePine Romeo (black, button scurs)
FirthofFifth Barish x FirfthofFifth Rahu
42% UK, F2 Timothy, F4 Dillon, F5 Greyling, F5 Lightning, F7 Greyling
I believe he will be jet black like his grandpa Timothy. Timothy was jet black at age 9 yet. Again have fleece samples and micron reports for both parents as lamb fleeces and yearling fleeces.

WhitePine Grover (black, POLLED)
FirthofFifth Barish x Wintertime Gracie
36% UK, F2 Timothy, F5 Jamie, F5 Timothy, F5 Holly, F7 Greyling
He could be possibly polled. He will also be jet black like his grandpa. I have fleece samples for both parents as well as micron reports.

Please email me privately at gramsay@arvig.net for further information.

Wintertime Gracie and WhitePine Grover

Well I thought Rahu's boy would be possibly polled, but it seems he will probably be scurred. No biggie. I swore Gracie would give me triplets with the size of her belly, but gave me a tiny 3# 8oz ram lamb SINGLE! I was quite shocked. I was even FURTHER shocked to see that he had HAIR growing where his horn buds should be! I thought for sure it was a ewe. In the photo it looks like horn buds....and they could be I guess...but why haven't they broken the skin? Is he indeed polled and they are just leathery patches with the hair on them? I want to see a new born polled ram so I can tell with me. This is nerve wracking! This little boy is an F2 Timothy and is JET BLACK with very consistent fleece. All my lambs seem to be very consistent. Even the two ewe lambs with the wavier fleece in the back....I picked them up and saw that all the fleece since they were born is very crimpy and as consistent as the front of them. Its really noticable in Rye's fleece.
Castle Rocks Fleece. Harder to tell here but she DOES have that crimpy stuff growing where that wave was before.

Contrast

The day after the storm....my chives on the left and my Egyptian Walking Onions on the right.
Three days after the storm....I see quack grass growing in there...better get out there!
Green grass under white snow.....(like my striping?) not something you see everyday

Friday, April 25, 2008

Minwawe Dixie Cup

Lamb races at 7am today
Snow storm at 3pm today

Well the Minwawe crew here has finally decided to gimme a lamb! The rest of them all look like they are about to pop. And they should! Its now only 27 degrees and heavily snowing! We are expected to get another foot of snow! Pity as just this week I've been mowing the lawn (spring clean up), getting fences fixed, machinery greased and ready to to into the fields and trying to start clean ups for my business, no thanks to my mower starting on fire!

I gathered the girls up around 2:30pm today when the snow started. I figured I'd rather have them INSIDE than outside in this terrible weather. It keeps getting worse out there...windier and whiter!

I went out to feed the afternoon hay and their grain mix about an hour later and there was a tiny black smirslet ewe lamb standing and trying to nurse off of her momma. WHAT THE HECK! she wasn't even acting funny today, she's such a pig at the feeders too...hmm...guess I have more to learn! I jugged her and baby Denver and they seem to be doing well!
Dixie Cup and her daughter Denver have just about the same markings! Denver and Temi's girl, Trinidad are both sired by Barish and both have the 'head band' or 'chin strap' marking on them

Dutch Hookbills


After the minks last year wiped me out of 5 generations of Swedish Duck breeding, as well as my Silver Appleyards and Saxonys, I didn't know if I wanted more ducks. Granted I had ONE Swedish duck left, a hen, but didn't know if I wanted more.

A friend of mine who has pigeons, and does a lot of importing of them from Germany and other parts of Europe came over to get a few pair of my homing pigeons to use as foster parents for other breeds.


We got to talking about poultry (both of us also like them) and he told me he had some of these Dutch Hookbills. I didn't have to pay for them and he'd give them to me. Two drakes (grey) and one hen (white). They also apparently come in bibbed (like the Swedes!) One of the males has the preferred hooked bill (you can see it in the photos) while the other two have less than desirable beaks, they are very useful for b reeding. I just might order some more of them from Holderead's in Oregon.


I also have ordered 15 black and blue Swedish ducklings......I can't help it, I'm smitten with those docile birds with the cute white bibs!

I believe in miracles!

Last night after I got home from agility class with Sadie I went to bottle feed the twin girls of Cori. I went to Romeo's jug and gave him a little milk, but then decided that it was time to strip momma Rahu and hold her against the side of the jug and let Romeo find his way. I let him nurse on each side while i held that leg up for him. After that ordeal, I noticed that she was all of a sudden licking and smelling him in a whole new way. Fingers crossed!

I went out this morning to feed and he wasn't screaming or chasing me around the jug. I went to secure Rahu again and lifted her leg to notice that there was NO milk in the bag (meaning he had just cleaned it all out!). I left them to their own, I went and fed my new ducks (in the next post) and came back and this is what I saw: I DO BELIEVE IN MIRACLES! I DO I DO! While we aren't out of the woods yet, this is so promising. Thank you God and thank you to those who had me in their prayers...I will NOT have to bottle feed Romeo after all!

Introducing.......

WhitePine Peterson is the black ram lamb out of Pi Lo and Forrest. Like I said, I was hoping for twin gulmoget girls but this guy isn't so bad either..and about 8 pounds big!
WhitePine Romeo shown here with mom Rahu. He's trying to eat some hay and appears odd looking lol. Notice his crimpy wool all the way to the britch! He also has large divots in his head where the horns should be, with just tiny tiny tiny spikes (like 3% of what a horn bud should be) on one end of each divot.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Halfway there...

Halfway there and I thought I'd recap:

16 ewes have lambed (14 to go)
12 ewes, 10 rams

7 sets of twins from mature ewes
8 sets of singles:
5 mature ewes
3 yearling ewes

14 jazz offspring: six katmogets, 7 solid black (with/without head marking) 1Ag
3 forrest offspring: 1 gulmoget, 1 ag, 1 solid black
2 aman offspring: 1 white, 1 bersugget (ag)
2 heath offspring: 1 katmoget, 1 solid moorit
2 barish offspring: 2 solid black (with or without head markings)

Left to lamb:
2 mature ewes, both bred to Barish
12 yearling ewes:
3 to Heath
1 to Forrest
4 to Barish
4 to Jazz

When its all said and done I'll repost with all the results.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

FirthofFifth Rahu

Well this is a mixed bag post. I was just thinking the other day how I'm so lucky with my sheep. After a terrible year with the goats, the sheep have been a blessing. Although I've had way more singles from mature ewes than I like, all lambs were healthy.

Yesterday I noticed I had the beginning of a selenium or Vit E deficiency in one of the lambs. I quickly fixed that with a BoSe injection and a Vit E gel capsule.

Tonight I saw Rahu starting early labor in the shed before I brought them in for the night. I immediately jugged her and waited....An hour... then another one....no legs, no water bag. And man was she pushing! I waited a little bit longer and then finally had to intervene. I felt a TAIL and no legs. I called the vet, emergency call of course, and he came and somehow he got his hand in there, found a leg, then another and pulled it out. He held it up like someone who just caught a fish.

And it started to wiggle like one.

I surely thought he was a goner and was hoping to just save Rahu. I rubbed and rubbed and he started calling for his mom, but she was in shock and in pain. She briefly sniffed him and walked to the other part of the jug. Pi Lo, who just had a lamb yesterday was FRANTICALLY calling to him begging him to come nurse.

Fortunately I had some Kolostrum (from Premier) that I had on hand. I went and had supper with the fam and then went back out. He had moved to the other side and was laying down......very slow and very cold. I mixed some colostrum and fed it to him which he readily ate. Within a moment he was up standing and walking to Rahu calling, begging to eat. She ignored him. If not by morning I'll have to give him to Pi Lo. I don't want a ram lamb for a bottle lamb.

Now most of you may not know that Cori's twin girls are bottle lambs. She was found with her lambs, but wouldn't let them nurse. To this day she still wont' let them nurse, but she sleeps with them, calls for them, eats with them, but doesn't let them nurse. So I have two bottle babies that are girls and they are so precious. But I'm not excited about all the bottle feeding!

I'm even tempted now to give the little guy to Pi Lo but I'll try and give Rahu the benefit of the doubt. It was very traumatic. I'm glad that both mom and baby are alive and doing OK so far...that's more than I could ask for!

Photos to come

FirfthofFifth Pi Lo Chun

PiLo was bred to the gulmoget Wintertime Black Forrest of Meghans. I was hoping for two gulmoget ewe lambs. Instead I got a black ram single. He's big, his fleece looks REALLY consistent and I really like him. He was born on tuesday, I just haven't had a moment to take photos with all the chaos here, including my mower going up in flames yesterday...maybe i'll blog about THAT when i have more time

Hey Sabrina.......!!

Just letting you know Rahu is in labor :D i want it to be a polled ram lamb for you.....:)

or a gulmoget ewe lamb for me :P

more on her and her lamb shortly...i'm out to take photos!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

FirthofFifth Jasmine Phoenix

Last year Jasmine as a yearling twinned for me. I was truly expecting twins again this year! Instead she produced a 7 pound grey katmoget ewe lamb for me out of Heath my homegrown moorit (who by the way came back an amazing 18.9 AFD on his yearling fleece!!)

Jasmine is Ag/Ab and can only give me muskets/greys or katmogets. This little girl is sure a cutie! Her name is WhitePine Julesburg, sticking with the Colorado cities name theme this year!

I'm almost at the half way point! ( I know!! I've been lambing since March 30th...you'd think I'd be done by now!) I also do not think all of my yearling girls are bred...they are just too tiny, unless they cycled late... I left Jazz in with ALL the girls after breeding season just in case one was late...so I 'could' have lambs all the way until June 6th....that seems so far away!

CWCCA National Specialty

Well my very first national was here and gone. I can't believe its over already!

I made many new great friends, I met many people who I'd only heard about, emailed, or called on the phone with before. I learned an amazing amount of knowledge.....I had breeder judges, judges and breeders all go over my two girls Ell and Zoe and appreciate and respect all of their opinions. Needless to say I'm VERY excited about my girls and the future of Ebonwald!

I had tried to breed Maggie (Can/Am CH Vermillion's Maggie May) to Fudge (CH Trudytales About Last Night) back in January. I was able to meet Elaine Collins, his owner/breeder, Fudge's grandma (who was bet veterans bitch 9-11 yrs old), and many of Fudge's offspring. Fudge was in the final nine dogs/bitches for Best In Specialty Show and he received his Award of Merit, along with CH Kingsbury's I'm Harry P (who is the best known Cardigan out there...usually in all of the shows on TV). Fudge has never been specialed and I truly can say with confidence that Fudge SHOULD have won the show. He is an amazing dog for anyone who has seen him and I'm eager to try again this winter with Fudge and Maggie.

I was also able to meet Ell's uncle Petey (who looks exactly like her dad Prince) and her mother Vayda, and her brother and sister Jesse and Flash. What an amazing bunch! Many thanks also to Jon Kimes, Pixie Lauer and Barb Hoffman for educating me, answering all my hundreds of questions and making my first national truly enjoyable and memorable!!

Also thanks to JoAnne Beashau, Ferris Beashu, and Tiffany Green for allowing me to stay with you in your camper. Its really too bad Kenny had to be neutered huh? What a dog and what a shame he won't be residing at Ebonwald with us! JoAnne made me feel right at home and part of the family and always making me laugh! She has so much knowledge about the breed, the dogs and the people behind them, its truly amazing to listen to her talk about them. Thanks for letting me help do poop patrol and help in the silent auction!

I was able to meet and talk to so many long time breeders and those friends whom I've only known through email. What a great opportunity for all those involved in the breed to be a part of such a great thing! Herding, Tracking, Obedience, Rally, Agility, Conformation.....all things the Cardigans can and will do with ease....a truly versatile breed! Thanks again to everyone on their praises and comments on the girls....makes me feel good to know that others are watching what I'm doing, how my girls are progressing and to compliment me on them, well that's just a humbling experience. Thanks again!

And I was so busy I didn't get ONE photo taken!! Dang it!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Underhill Peep

Peep is a musket that was bred by Gail Former. She was bred to Wintertime Black Forrest, a black gulmoget from Meghan Namaste's breeding program. I was hoping for Ag gulmoget ewe lambs in black and moorit (seriously I was) and I got a musket ram lamb and a black gulmoget ram lamb. Well, I can't always get what I want now can I?! Peep is the sweetest ewe I have had to date...always begging or pleading (politely most of the time) to be scratched, pet or rubbed.

Here is WhitePine Peyton, the black gulmoget boy. he has white specks on his forehead and between his ears so I'm assuming that that is 'smirslet' however I'm sure it will all but disappear when he gets a few weeks older


Its hard to tell in the photos but this boy, WhitePine Parker, is not moorit. He looks modified with gold tones. Now in the photos it looks just like Ag with the fleece already changing (his scrotum is already pure grey) but he appears 'golden' in the sun. I'm still going to just call him musket, but will make note to see if his legs and head change to a lighter color after his body has stopped the color production.

His fleece is completely different than his brothers...very tight crimpy curls. I'm interested in seeing how both boys mature. He also has smirslet markings on top of his head. Must be the year for head spots!?

FirthofFifth Rooibos

Roo is a fawn ewe that carries spotting and is modified. Last year she produced Rolo, who's fleece sample came back under 21 microns as a yearling! I'm pleased to say the least. Anyways, Roo had twins actually but one was 'mummified'. I've had this happen with cows sometimes and its just an anomaly I've been told. This is WhitePine Rye. She is out of Jazz, the F1 Jericho. Look at all the brown phaeo on her sides.....although she IS a black based (grey) katmoget. The 2nd fetus was only the size of an apricot and was completely hard and white.

This little girl makes up for it however....she's such a sweetheart!



I'm also attaching a photo of the two grey katmogets that are both from jazz, both from moorit ewes and both have the brown phaeo on thier sides, but are black tongued, black nosed and eyelids, black legs and belly. And its not dark brown. Its black! I've left it in its largest size so you can see up close the brown phaeo. It IS phaeo right? I'm calling it right??

FirthofFifth Sikkem Temi

Temi, a dark moorit, was bred to FirthofFifth Barish, an F1 Timothy, who is a dark grey katmoget. This is his first adorable baby, a black smirslet ewe lamb named WhitePine Trinidad.

I'm hoping all his kids are as nice as this one!

I hate coming home

I just got home last night about midnight from the Cardigan Welsh Corgi National Specialty that was held in a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. LOTS of stuff to talk about with that, but i'll leave it for a time when I'm in a better mood.

I also had only three ewes lamb while I was away:

Underhill Peep (musket) with UK genetic was bred to Wintertime Black Forrest the gulmoget of Meghan Namaste's. She had a gorgeously crimped musket boy and a black gulmoget boy. Both have head splashes of white.

FirthofFifth Sikkem Temi (moorit) with UK genetics gave me my first Barish offspring....a black smirslet ewe lamb. Her white looks like a collar...its cute.

FirthofFifth Rooibos (fawn) with UK genetics gave me a grey katmoget ewe lamb who has tones of brown phaeo on her sides. Its interesting its my 2nd one like this...black tongue and eyelids, black head and feet, but brown phaeo on her sides.

I was gone six days and all hell has broken loose..lots of things I need to fix, move, and such. Also since the weather has since become nice, my clients are panicking that I do their spring clean ups ASAP and i don't have my mower ready or anything like that.

I promise to post photos soon.......I need to regroup and conquer before I do much more on here.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

WinterSky Layla

I'm bad at guessing games I guess. Layla was not the one I thought would be next! Three of the Minwawe yearlings have been waddling like a toddler with a full diaper for the past week, not eating much and having swollen back ends. I noticed Layla laying down by herself in the corner and figured she'd be going last night. I was too tired to stay and watch...I actually got more than a 2 hour nap last night!! I awoke to a nursing, dried of MOORIT ram lamb(my first moorit of the year)! This is my first Heath lamb and he's adorable!

Layla is an F1 Orion and Heath is a linebred Tennyson son. He is also 47% UK. Both Heath and Layla go back to Underhill Loretta Lynne and the Rarebriar flock, which was the purpose of this breeding. SHOOT its a boy! But I'm still at 2:1 ratio for girls to boys!!
Isn't he so cute...blinking at the flash and all ;)

Considering how long I've been lambing I still only have 10 ewes that HAVE lambed...and 20 more TO lamb! GAH!! Hurry up!! :)

Sunday, April 13, 2008

WinterSky Buttons twins

Remember last year when Buttons had that moorit HST lamb??!! I was super pumped up about that! Her lambs this year are out of Jazz again (he was a busy boy!) and both are black (again) and tiny head spots (again). I was hoping that because Jazz was spotted and most of the girls were highly spotted or carry spotting, that I'd have a bit more 'flash' this year. Last year I was very hopeful that I'd have a few black lambs. This year I'm glad I have so many to choose from so I can't complain! But a few more head or leg markings wouldn't hurt right? :)

The little guy in back with the krunet is named Black Hawk. He's a mere 3 pounds! His sister is Brighton, with the tiny krunet She's 6#5oz nearly twice his size.


Here is WhitePine Rush, Rachildas little white ewe, all cleaned off, in her first few minutes outside. Her crimp goes all the way down her britch and she's super cute...but no pink nose :( (Sorry Bill!)

And here is Wren's little spotted katmoget girl I named Westminster (hey all the other names for "W" cities were very masculine. She's jumping up and down in the jug...ready to lamb race!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Good Morning!

Well thank goodness the girls waited until I was done blowing snow!

Around evening feeding time, I noticed Rachildas was not her normally piggy self and wasn't eating. She was about two days past her due date (no biggie really) and I knew that she was going to have to give up her lambs sometime soon!

She started having contractions around10:30 or so but they were VERY far apart. Enough for her to get up and pretend to find things to eat in her hay that she earlier wasn't interested in.

At midnight she still wasn't at full contractions or dilation so I thought I should go take a quick nap (hey I'd been up since 4am the day before working hard moving wet heavy snow!) I woke up about 2:30 am and the entire time i was sleeping I had nightmares about mispresentation of the lambs, blizzards and finding dead lambs. I raced to the barn and this is what I found:
These two lambs are out of the F1 Orion son, FirthofFifth Aman, owned by Cynthia Allen, who is a modified moorit of sorts so both of these guys carry modified for sure. I knew Rachildas was only Awt/Ag as she has only had whites or bersuggets before (hence she also carries spotting) so I didn't know if I'd also see a musket but she is apparently BB BB.

Horray! My first white lamb and my first bersugget lamb! Anyone know WHY the whites are yellow at birth? Why not the other colors? What is that stuff?!
Her bersugget ram lamb
Rachildas white ewe lamb
Both have crimpy, consistent fleece

While I was taking photos I witnessed the yearling ewe pen had commotion. All of the girls went running and stood in a corner opposite LittleRedOak Wren. Lo and behold she was in labor! She was NOT the one I expected to lamb first with the yearlings as I had just checked udders at the evening meal and she was not the one with the biggest udder, or the most swollen back end. Guess they showed me huh?
This is a little spotted katmoget EWE lamb also out of Jazz, the F1 Jericho of mine. She has a krunet on her head and white on the backs of her ears...really cute....AND TINY! She is as small as Rolo was last year when born to a first time mom. I haven't weighed them yet but I bet she isn't much more than three pounds!

I forget how dramatic these first time moms are before, during and after labor. Then again I'll just say I'm glad I don't have to bear children. Props to the females in this world of all species!!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

another spottie


Ok so its a CALF but its still a spotty and a GIRL! Reese gave me another heifer.....she's such a great mom too! This little cutie is from AI, from a bull that was as wildly patterned as Reese's calf from last year. Most of my girls carry spotting...which is what the Simmental WAS and still is in most of the world, except for the US and Canada.

I think this makes it 5 heifers, 2 bulls so far...with dad having three heifers and i having 2 and 2.....23 left to go!

Monday, April 7, 2008

RYL Corild (Cori) gives me twin ewe lambs too!

While slaving away these past 36 hours plowing snow with just a 2 hr nap and a hr to do chores I really was thinking I needed a lamb fix. And not any of my already born ones.....you know...'fresh' ones :) Granted we did have a bull calf born during the storm in the shed (good Regina momma) but it wasn't the same as lambs...let alone twin ewe lambs!

So far 10 lambs, 7 are ewes and they are all from Jazz, the F1 Jericho boy. Both these girls are 43% UK and their mother at six years of age is still jet black. I had to do an 'above' photo to show off the tiny krunets they both have. That makes six lambs with some type of krunet marking. I have heard from others that they have been getting a lot of these too.

Only 24 more to go!

Sunburn and Road Graders

Do you guys also have that road grader (for gravel roads of course) superstition that the day he grades the road, the next day it rains? it makes the roads sloppy. well the road grader went on saturday and then we got 10 inches of wet heavy snow. Today it was 50 and not only was it sloppy but it was also slushy and snowy. The roads were nearly worse to travel on TODAY instead of yesterday with the drifts....

And I think I'm the only person in the world that can get SUNBURN when plowing snow. Now granted I've been tanning all winter, but this 'summer' sun is something fierce...especially for this big Scandinavian guy! my entire face (especially my forehead) is bright apple red and very sore and scrathcy. Good think I still have the SolarCane from last year! I go through bottles of that!

Only in my life..............

Sunday, April 6, 2008

All in stride

Mac and Ell running rampant down by the old dairy barn.

How many Cardis can you count?! They are all racing to Grandma's House.

" well JEEZ Dad hurry up!"

Mac and Oliver with our English Shepherd farm dog, Buddy (whose 10 years old this week!)

Oliver and Mac running and jumping......soooo happy!

Zoe eating the fresh clean snow


I MISSED Sadie rolling in the snow...with the camera anyway. Here is just getting up.

The babies just love the snow. Ell and Sadie were out rolling around in it. They dogs were moving so fast I couldn't keep up with them to take photos.

They absoultely LOVE the snow......or water.........or mud............or leaves blowing around. I wish I could get so excited about the simple pleasures in life. Before I did snow removal I actually LIKED the white stuff....it'd be a good movie day or a day to take a nap or go outside and take photos of the landscape in snow. I don't particularly like it anymore...especially in April :)

Walking in a winter wonderland..........

Saturday, April 5th, 1pm
Sunday, April 6th, 1pm

So yesterday I knew the snow was coming. For comparison I wanted to do a 'before and after' kind of photo. Well I got one. Last night the front came through and within 30 minutes it had dropped nearly 20 degrees!! Followed by sleet and then snow and then AFTER the snow there was a thunderstorm and rain. We had between 5-6 inches of snow only.

Woke up early after having nightmares about ewes lambing with triplets and either taking other lambs as their own or refusing their own and me getting home from work and not knowing whose lambs were whose. Ran outside............no lambs.

My dad and I went to Wadena where I do about 90% of my snow removal. They didn't have any snow...just ice.......about 20 miles away. Drove to Perham where my other snow removal is and they had about 4 inches. My buddy from Detroit Lakes (another 30 minutes to the northwest of Perham) said they had 8 inches there already. Guess we were right on that line.

It had stopped snowing by 1am last night and now apparently its wrapping around an we are in for round two. This time more snow....6-10 inches more. And its a white out now. Its allegedly supposed to be done at midnight...i'm hoping to leave at 9pm and go blow snow all night long so i'm not out all day tomorrow doing it. Oh and its supposed to be 50 again tomorrow. that doesn't seem odd to those further south but typically when there is snow here...it lasts all winter and doesn't get above freezing for months......

I'd rather have THAT snow...where its light and fluffy than this wet heavy crap that you can't shovel. ugh...back out to get ready for tonight! wish me luck!

Odds n' ends

I have always hated the noise that Guinea hens make. Last fall I broke down at the swap and purchased two from Rayna and her mom. I figured they'd be good to keep around to eat the bugs and ticks and stuff that try to get a free ride on the animals or me. I'm sure i could have 200 and still have ticks but they look cool. :) They have started to nest and have been an awful racket....so the other day I let them out of the barn. They had a gorgeous week in the 50's. I haven't found them yet today...in the snow....then again I just came in to take a break after a morning of snow...more of that in the next post.
Shocker is very indignant that he is seperated from his momma. I left him with his mom for eight months...mostly for companionship but he was starting to get rowdy so I had to seperate him. Here he is in his box stall........he's such a silly boy...he loves playing with his oats pan and kicks it and carries it around the pen. He is still several inches shorter than his mom...and they both are fuzzy as can be. Don't worry I do check the halter everyday....if he doesn't have it on he knows he can try and play keep away......He's looking for a good home, as is his pregnant mommy.
Well Michelle, I had to take a photo of my garden......yesterday......before all the snow......to show you that I do indeed have one.....the snow bank was mostly gone...that is....until today.

A long time coming!

 It has been a long time. Too long in fact. We lost access to our farm website and ebonwald website when WEBS.COM was closed by VistaPrint. ...